Money Management

This subject is of extreme importance in all gambling games, and particularly so in blackjack, where you not only must manage your bankroll, but your time as well.

When playing twenty-one, you don’t want to be barred or have the casino put in countermeasures, such as constant shuffling up or harassment to discourage your participation. There­fore, you must be as inconspicuous as possible, especially if you have studied the methods of strategy and betting outlined in this page.

The single best method of avoiding casino heat is to hit and run-to make some money, leave the table, and go on to another table or casino before the management is wise to your expert play. To do this, you should never spend more than one hour at any one table. Besides limited play at one table, I would suggest never spending more than two hours in any one casino during any one shift.

As for money management, the following rules should be adhered to:

Play with 50 times the minimum bet in reserve at any single table. If you are at a $1 minimum table and that’s your minimum bet, you should have $50 either in your pocket or on the table as your reserve.
If $5 is the minimum bet, you’ll need a reserve of $250. This doesn’t mean that the whole sum should be placed out on the table. I like to put only about half that amount on the table, keeping the rest in my wallet. If I lose the $125 of the $250 I brought with me, I either pull out more money or move on to another table. This gives the appearance of having been tapped out, which casino floor men and pit bosses love to see. If all $250 is on the table and you’ve still got $125 of it, then you’ll be table hopping and might draw the attention of the casino personnel.